Rotary engine.



PATENTED DEG. 10, 1907. I V. PINGRET.

ROTARY ENGINB.

APPLIGATION PILED MAY 4, 1906.

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PATENTED DEC. 10, 1907.

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VICTOR PINGRET, OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL, -BRAZIL, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO THE PINGRET TURBO PISTON ENGINE GO., OF ESCANABA,MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

ROTARY ENGINE.

No. s73,597.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1907.

Application filed May 4, 1906. Serial No'. 315.210.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VICTOR PINGRET, a citizen of the Republic of Brazil,and a resident of Rio Grande do Sul, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul,Brazil, now temporarily residing in l/Vashington, District of Columbia,have invented certain new and useful Inprovements in Rotary Engines; andI do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyngdrawings, 'l orining a part of this specification, and to the figuresand letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates primarily to rotary engines of the concentricpiston type and in its general Construction enbodies a cylinder orcasing, a rotary piston or piston carrier having abutments thereonadapted to travel through a working chamber in the cylinder or casingand past another abutment journaled in the casing or cylinder andprovided with a recess through which the abutments on the piston travel,said rotary abutment in the casing also constituting a portion of thevalve mechanism Whereby the adm ission of steam or other elastic fluidis controlled.

The invention consists in certain improvements relating more especiallyto the construction of the adnission or control mechanism and in themeans employed for maintaining steamtight joints.

The invention further consists in certain novel details of Constructionand combinations and arrangements of parts all as will be now describedand pointed out particularly in the appended clains.

Referrng to the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a vertical sectionthrough a rotary engine enibodying the present improvements,

arts being shown in elevation and in dotted iines in order that theinvention may be more clearly understood. Fig. 2 is a sectional viewlongitudinal of the drive 'shaft and partly in a plane intersecting theabutment in the cylinder and partly in a vertical plane to show thedriving mechanism for the governor together with the eXhaust port. Fig.3 is a detail sectional view through one of the working chambers of thecylinder with a piston or inovable abutment in elevation. Fig. 4 is anelevation looking at the smaller end of the abutment journaled in thecasing or cylinder. Fig. 5 is a section through the abutment in a planeintersecting the recess of the packing for rendering the working'chambers steam tight.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures indicate like parts.

As illustrated, the engine is moimted on a base A having bearings B fora drive sha'ft C, said shaft being usually arranged horizontally andextending through the cylinder D of the engine. Said cylinder D isusually formed in vertical halves to facilitate the construction and isadapted to contain within it a disk like piston or piston carrier Ewhich latter is rigidly affixed to the shaft C in any approved manner.Around its periphery the piston or piston carrier E is provided withabutments which in the present instance are preferably in the form ofcylindrical abutments or pistons proper as indicated at G, each beingheld in a bracket Gr suitahly attached to the piston or carrier E.

The pistons or movable abutments G are adapted to traverse a circularchamber in the casin or cylinder, said charnber being cylindrica incross section as is best shown in Fig. 3, a portion of the length ofsaid chamber being adapted to form the working chamber, while theremaining portion of said ohamber is provided with spiral ribs g whichserve to hold packing rin s in the pistons or abutments G compresse butat the same time permit the steam or elastic fluid to pass freely aroundthe pistons or abutments. The latter portion of the circular chamber maybe properly denominated the exhaust chamber, inasmuch as it is open tothe eX- haust port H, and when the pistons or abutments move into thesame the elastic fluid is free to pass to and out of the eXhaust port.

The working part of the chamber preferably extends on both sides of theabutment I, in order that a working chamber may be provided forOperating the engine in either direction, it being understood, ofcourse, and as will presently appear, that steam or elastic fluid isadmitted between the abutment I and the pistons or abutments G after thelatter have passed the abutment I with the engine running in eitherdirection, and that the pressure will be continued be:

- tween the abutments until the pistons or that the admission portshould beopened` instantly when the ,chamber between 'the two ports hasbeen closed against the escape of steam or pressure and that thecapacity should exist ot regulatingthe' admission from a point close totheworking chamber in order that the losses due to thegradualaccumulation of pressure in thechamber as well as those due to theexistence of` port connections of largecapacity sh all he avoided.

In the present engine, the desired ends are accomplished by providingthe rotary abutment I, to which reference has before been made, witharecess or chamberl' for a the' passage of' the movable abutments orpistons, said rotary abutment being also provided-with a steam inletpassage iopening into said chamber I'. The inlet passage i v extends outto the fiat face `of the abutment inposition to register with a portk inadisk or valve K, which latter is journaled in the end of the valve orabutment chamber and is adapted to be moved or adjusted manu-` ally asby a worm L and hand wheel L whereby theport ktmay be turned so as toefiect the admisson at the proper instant or' so as to eflect the properadmission' for runnmg the engine n either direction.

The rotary abutment I is preferably in the form of autapering plugwhich-may be accurately ground to a seat in the valve or abutmentchamber of the cylinder orcasing and it is'held to its place by anadjustable cap 1 between which and the abutment,

- frictionalresistance.

ball bearings 73 may be interposed to reduce portions of the abutmentmay be provided with screw threads or spiral oil feed-chan- -nels asindicated at i in Fig. 2 for feeding lubricatingamaterial from the -cndsof the abutment towards the center. The abutment may be rotated bygearing from the main shaft, as at 13 and its rate of rotationis suchthat ,its 'periphery will move at the same speed as the edge of thepistoncarrier E:with which it contacts to make -a steam ti ht joint. Itwill be understood tha-t the e ge of the said piston carrier is beveledor `inclined to correspond to the b evel 'or inclination of theabutment, thus any wear between the partsmay be taken up by advancingthe abutment in the direction of its smaller end.

In addition, the end &73,597

Outside of the valve K is anon-rotary plate M, Figs. 2 and 8, whichplate M is provided with two ports m and m one of which is in positionto register with the port k in the valve K for Operating the engine inone direction, while the other is in position to register with said portTr for Operating the engine in the opposite direction. Bearing againstthe outer face of the plate M is a governor valve N, Figs. 2 and 7,having a port n therein adapted to register withthe ports m and m' inthe` plate M, the position of the governor valve N being regulated byautomatic governor so as to admit more or less steam in accordance withthe speed of the engine. In the preferred Construction, the saidgovernor valve N works in a cylindrical chamber in the head O of thevalve casing and is held up to its seat by steam pressure upon its outerface for which purpose the admission pipe P preterably opens through thehead O to the outer side of the valve N and the means for controllingthe said valve preferably consists of a short section Q, of said pipe,which at its innerend, is flanged and provided with lugs or arms q'adapted to embrace pins `q' on the valve n while its outer end isconnected with the pipe P by a steam tight joint and is provided' with acrank arm R, Fig. 1, with which a connecting rod R' is jointed, saidconnecting rod R being in turn connected with an ordinary centrifugalgovernor R through an Operating lever R The latter may, if' desired, beprovided with a handle R by which the governor controlled valve may be'reversed when the engine is reversed. The governor may be driven fromthe main shatt C through bevel gears'S, best 'shown in Fig. 2, and inoperation it will move the valve N to vary the port opening in the wellunderstood manner.

To relieve any possible" back pressure which might occur as each pistonor abutment G isapproaching the abutment L'supplemental exhaust ports Tare provided in proxinity to the abutment I, such exhaust ports T beingconnected by pipes T (dotted lines Fig. 1), with the main exhaust H.Connected valves t are so arranged in the 'pipes T' that when one isopened, the other is closed, and consequently when the engine is runningin one direction the valves should be so moved as to permit theexhausting of pressure behind the abutment I wl1ile the port T in 'frontof the abutment is closed against theescape of pressure from the workingchamber.

:Located in the cylinder on each side of the piston carrier are packingstrips U, such strips being preferably formed with 'flexible endsadapted to lie close to the beveled edges of the piston carrier E asbest shown in Figs. 3, 10 and 11. The strips are normally, however, justout of contact with the piston carrier and adapted to be' pressed intocontact therewith by the pressure in the working chamber. A number ofsuch strips may 'be provided as shown in Fig. 11, or their flexible endsmay be subdivded so as to bend down freely to form steam tight joints atthe points mentioned and the brackets G" are recessed or groovedimmediately below the pistons or abutments G to form passage ways forthe ends of the strips as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3. Said stripsmay be confined in grooves one side of which may be formed by themovable segments U', Fig. 3, and they may be adjusted by adjustingscrews V passing through to the outside of the casing adapted to bearagainst segments or rings V said segments V being especially usefulwhere a series of packing strips U are employed and it is not desired toprovide an adjusting screw *for each strip. In their passage through theabutment I, the pistons or movable abutments G have their packing ringsconfined by ribs /V which latter are preferably formed on curves toconform to the relative movements of the two abutments in passing eachother, thus the packing rings on the abutments G will be held.compressed and in proper shape for entering the working chambers as theypass out of the abutments I.

In operation, steam or pressure entering through the pipe P will seatthe governor valve N firmly against the plate M and passing through theports n m will enter the port Ic in the valve K. At the proper instant,or when one of the abutments G has moved through the abutment I and thelatter has turned sufiiciently to close the rear end of the workingchamber, the porti, in the abutment I will be brought into registry withthe port k' and steam will be admitted between the abutments G and I andwill e'fl ect the forward movement of the former together with thepiston carrier and shaft. Depending upon the position of the valve K,the steam will be cut oti' at the proper instant and when the abutment Greaches the exhaust chamber, the exhaust may take place through saidchamber and through the eXhaust port H as will be readily understood. Toreverse the engine, it is only necessary to move the valve K intoposition 'for its port to register with the other one of the ports m orm' as the case may be, when steam will be admitted to turn the shaft inthe opposite direction, the governor controlled valve N being alsoreversed by means of the handle E* as will be readily understood.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is z- 1. In a rotary engine, the combinationwith the cylinder or casing, the rotary piston carrier and pistonsthereon and the rotary abutment ournaled in the casing, having a recessfor the passage of the pistons therethrough, and having an inlet porttherein, of a manually controlled valve having a port with which theinlet port in the abutment is adapted to register and a governorcontrolled valve tor regulating the supply of pressure to the manuallycontrolled valve, substantially as described.

2. In a rotary engine, the combination with the cylinder or casing, therotary piston carrier and pistons thereon and the rotary abutmentjournaled in the casing having a recess for'the passage of the pistonstherethrough and having an inlet port therein opening into said recess,of a valve having a port with which the inlet port in the abutment isadapted to register, .a fixed plate having a port therein with which theport in the valve is adapted to register and a second valve having aport adapted to register with the port in the plate; substantially as(lescribed.

3. In a rotary engine, the combination with the cylinder or casing, therotary piston carrier and pistons thereon and the rotary abutment offrusto-conical formjournaled in the casing and having the recess for thepassage of the pistons therethrough and the inlet passage extending fromsaid recess to the end face of the abutment, of the disk valve againstwhich said end face of the abutment seatS, said valve having a porttherein with which the inlet in the abutment is adapted to register,means for moving said valve independently of the abutment and a fixedplate having a plurality of ports therein with which the port in thevalve is adapted to register substantially as described.

4. In a rotary engine, the combination with the cylinder and casing, therotary piston carrier and pistons thereon and the rotary abutmentjournaled in the casing and having a recess for the passage of thepistons therethrough and the inlet passage extending from said recess toone end face of the abutment of a disk valve interposed between the endof the abutment and end of its chamber and having a port therein withwhich the inlet passage in the abutment is adapted to register and meansfor adjusting the abutment longitudinally towards the valvesubstantially as described.

5. In a rotary engine, the combination with the cylinder and casing, therotary piston carrier and pistons thereon and the rotary trusto conicalabutment journaled in the casing and having a recess for the passage ofthe pistons therethrough and the inlet passage eXtending from the recessto the smaller end face of the abutment, of a disk valve interposedbetween the end of the abutment and end of its chamber and having a porttherein with which the inlet passage in the abutment is adapted toregister and means for adjusting the abutment longitudinally toward thevalve; substantially as described.

6. In a rotary ,engine the coinbination With the casing, rotary pistoncarrier and pistons thereon and the rotary abutrnent journaled in thecasng and having the recess for the passage of the pistons therethroughand an inlet passage leading froni the end of the abutnent, of an inletpipe, a disk valve arranged axially of the ahutnient and connected Withthe end of the inlet pipe to be turned thereby suhstantialiy asdescribed.

7. In a rotary engine, the combination With the casing, rotary pistencarrier and pistons thereon and the rotary abutrnent journaled in thecasing and having the recess for the passage of the pistons therethroughand an iniet passage leading froni the recess to the end of theabutnent, of a disk valve at the end of the abutment, a fixed plateagainst Whi'ch the valve seats, a second disk valve, an inlet pipehaving a novable end section and connections between said movable endsection and second valve Whereby the said valve may be turned;substantially as described.

8. In a rotary engine, the oornbination With the rotary piston carrierand substantially cylindrical pistons thereon, of the casing having thepisten chamher of cylindrical form in cross section and an eXhaustchamber With internal spiral ribs, a rotary abutment bridging the pistonchamber and hav-` ing a recess therein for the passage of the pistonsthrough the abutment, said abutrnent having an inlet passage therein anda valve separate from the abutment for controlling the adnission ofpressure through the abut ment; substantially as described.

9. In a rotary engine, the conbination With the cylinder or casing andthe concentric piston carrier having pistons thereon, of packng stripsheld in the easing and having fiexible edges overiapping the edges ofthe pisten carrier and forning a tight joint With the pistons;substantialiy as described.

10. In a rotary engine, the combination With the cyiinder or casi-ng andthe concentric pisten carrier having pistons thereon and groovesadjacent said pistons, of packing strips held in the casing and .havingflexible edges overlapping the edges of the piston carrier and ad aptedto pass through said grooves; substantally as described.

11. In a rotary engine, the conbination With the cylinder or casing andthe concentric pisten carrier having pistons thereon, of diagonallyarranged packing strips having flexible edges projecting over the edgesof the pisten carrier and adapted to be noved into v contact thereWithby pressure in the cylinder;

VICTOB PINGRET.

Witnesses:

ALEXANDER S. STEUART, THoMAs DURANT.

